


A Word a Day

by apriiil



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bribery, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Corruption, Drabble Collection, Edolas, F/F, F/M, Fast Food, Ficlet Collection, M/M, Making Bail, Multi, Nerdiness, Pregnancy, Prompt Fic, Terraforming, word of the day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-04 17:11:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 6,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17308556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apriiil/pseuds/apriiil
Summary: Drabbles and ficlets using the Word of the Day from Merriam Webster dictionary.Cross-posted on fanfiction.net and Tumblr.Tags/Relationships to be added as I go.





	1. Handsel - BixLu

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my personal challenge for this year! I don't write enough, and I almost never write daily, so I decided I'd try and write at least a little bit each day. Even if I'm not working on my ongoing stories, I'm still getting something done, and hopefully improving on my skills as I go. 
> 
> If you'd like to see a pairing appear throughout this challenge, feel free to leave a request in a commend or send me a message over on Tumblr!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A gift made as a token of good wishes, especially at the beginning of a new year.”

Bickslow had never been a gift-giving person, at least outside of events such as birthdays and Christmas. 

He’d always found it difficult to give gifts to the people he cared about, and it had always been something he’d felt guilty for, especially when his team, the family he cared about more than anything in the world, would give him the most thoughtful and exquisite gifts year after year. They always said they didn’t mind when all they received back were small, comparably meaningless items, but that didn’t change how Bickslow felt. 

But it was a new year, and after almost losing the guild and so many years of his life on Tenrou, Bickslow knew it was time for a change. He wanted to be a better person, one his guild mates liked having around. Even Laxus had come back and was making an effort, and if he could, then Bickslow could too. 

He’d made himself a list; things that needed to be changed and people he needed to make amends with. 

He started with his team and Laxus. They’d put up with so much from him over the years that he couldn’t bear the thought of ever losing them. They were all he had left in that world after all. After that, he’d started on cleaning up his own life, going as far as moving into a new apartment, one with more light and a shower that wasn’t constantly dripping or running cold. He even started taking care of the babies’ totems again, sanding out the scratches and repainting the little details. And once all of that was done, Bickslow finally moved onto the guild. 

Bickslow didn’t know what he’d do without the guild. It had given him so much - a home when he’d needed it, friends and a family when he’d had none - and he’d almost lost it all. 

There were a few people in particular Bickslow had wanted to speak to. But Bickslow wasn’t really that great with words, at least not when he was trying to be serious, and Bickslow didn’t really want to go into the guild one day and make a fool of himself - well, a bigger fool of himself than normal. 

He saved Lucy for last, for whatever reason. Evergreen has teased him all week about it, saying that it was because he had a crush on little Lucy (he didn’t) and that it was adorable. Really, he’d just been trying to think of what to say and what to do. He’d gotten by with mumbled, shaky apologies for Makarov and everyone else he’d needed to speak to, but he’d felt Lucy had needed more than that. Perhaps it was because he’d already sort of apologised, before Tenrou. Or maybe it was because he still harboured far too much guilt. Bickslow wasn’t sure. 

But, he decided at some point he needed to give her something. Something that was actually meaningful, or wasn’t just some random trinket. And Bickslow had no hope in hell of buying something for a woman he knew hardly anything about, so he didn’t bother. Instead, he made her something. And he’d never made anything for anyone in his entire life, not unless the bodies he’d given his souls counted. 

Bickslow couldn’t speak to her in the guild though. There were too many over-sensitive ears in there. He waited until she was on her way out for the night, bidding goodnight to his own group to catch up to her outside. 

She hadn’t gone far when he called out to her, “Hey! Uh, Cos—Lucy, wait up.” 

Lucy pulled her coat tighter around herself as she stopped and turned. “Oh. Evening, Bickslow,” she said softly, offering a polite smile as he stopped just in front of her. “Heading out as well?”

“I, uh… Yeah.” It wasn’t all that late, but Bickslow supposed getting to bed at a reasonable time would probably be a good change. “I, um… I actually wanted to give you something,” he said, reaching inside his cloak to pull the slim box from the deep pocket. 

“Really? What for?” 

He held it in his hands for a few more moments before reluctantly holding it out. It felt stupid, now that he was actually going through with it. Why he’d let Freed and the babies convince him it wasn’t a bad idea was beyond him. At least he still had his visor to hide the fact he was having a hard time keeping eye contact. “Well, I just, um… I know that we talked a bit about it before… You know, before the trials and all that happened, and—” 

“Bickslow sorry!” the babies chirped for him. 

He grimaced. Thanks, babies. “Yeah. I’m, uh… I’m sorry,” he finally admitted. 

Lucy raised her eyebrows at him, slowly prying the lid from the box to peek inside. “What are you sorry for?” she asked. 

“Just… Picking on you that one time…” Bickslow mumbled. “I know I apologised ages ago now, but I still just… I felt like it wasn’t enough, you know? That was just… That was a mistake. All of it. And I guess I feel bad, too, since you were new to the guild back then, and I remember what it was like when I joined the guild and everyone was so awesome and welcoming, and… And that’s what it should’ve been like for you as well. From me—well, from my team, I mean.” 

It felt like so long ago that Lucy had nearly forgotten about all of it. She hadn’t known it was something that had still bothered Bickslow. She wondered if it was the same for the rest of his team. “I thought we’d all put that behind us, but thank you. I appreciate you saying that. And thank you for calling me Lucy for a change, too!” Bickslow grinned sheepishly at her and Lucy couldn’t help roll her eyes before looking back down to her gift. “You really didn’t need to give me anything though,” she said. 

“I wanted to. But, uh… I’m not really that great at this whole gift thing, so it’s fine if you hate it—” 

“Did you make this?” Lucy interrupted, carefully pulling the carved wooden block from the nest of pink tissue paper. It was just a bit larger than her hand, an open book with a quill sitting across the pages. 

He nodded. “Um, yeah.” It hadn’t taken him long, a couple of nights at most. He hadn’t the slightest idea what to actually make until he’d asked Freed if he knew anything about Lucy. “I heard from Freed that you like to write and were trying to write a book, and, well… I really hope that works out.” 

All the blood rushed to her cheeks as she looked away bashfully. Lucy was sure the whole guild knew her dream at that point. “I doubt it’ll happen, to be honest…” she mumbled. 

“It will. I believe in you.” 

She blushed even harder, glancing up to see Bickslow grinning down at her. She’d never had anyone make her anything before. She’d never really had anyone say they believed in her, either. Lucy was sure she’d be smiling all the way home. “W-Well, thank you. And this is beautiful. I love it,” she said. 

“Wait, you do?” Bickslow asked. 

“Absolutely. I mean, I don’t know where I’ll put it just yet, but I’ll find a special home for it.” 

Bickslow’s own cheeks warmed up. Perhaps it hadn’t been as stupid an idea as he’d thought.


	2. Campestral - CoLu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Of or relating to open fields or country.”

Cobra had never in a million years expected to find himself living in the country, much less actually enjoying it. When Lucy had suggested it all those years ago, he’d laughed at her and asked her why the fuck she would want to live out in the middle of nowhere. 

Her answer: why not? 

He’d hated it at first. It had taken nearly a year to get used to living in the city, actually staying in one place and having somewhere to go home to each night. When they eventually moved and packed up their life there, Cobra had had to start all over again, and it had sucked. 

As much as he had hated the city, he’d missed the convenience of being so close to it. Out there in their cosy little cottage in the campestral grounds, the closest town was nearly an hour away. 

But after a while, the country had grown on him. The serenity was what won him over in the end. He fell asleep to crickets outside their porch each night, rather than the couple in the upstairs apartment arguing, and he woke up to silence, a welcome change to the children that had always played along the canals in the morning. 

He liked it out there now. He liked sitting out on his porch with his coffee and watching Lucy in the garden. He liked going for walks around their land, even picking the odd bunch of wildflowers from the fields nearby since he knew how much Lucy liked her flowers. He liked being able to hear his own thoughts for a change, too. It had been a long time since Cobra had experienced anything close to peace. But out there, that’s all there was, and it was his favourite thing.


	3. Rapporteur - BixLu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “A person responsible for compiling reports and presenting them, as to a governing body.”

Lucy could barely keep herself still as Bickslow finally made it home from work. He’d barely made it through the door and loosened his tie before she was excitedly asking, “So? How’d it go? Was it good? I told you it’d be good news!” 

“Well, it wasn’t bad news,” he sighed, squeezing past his girlfriend in the hallway to make his way down to their room. “But… It was kinda weird.” 

Lucy frowned. Weird was bad. Well, it wasn’t horrible, but it certainly wasn’t good either. “What happened then?” 

“I, uh… I think I got a promotion?” 

“You got a promotion and you think that’s weird?” Lucy picked up one of the pillows on their bed to throw it at him. Sometimes she didn’t understand him. “What the hell!” 

Bickslow held up his hands to cover his face from the pillow attack. He loved their pillow fights, he really did. It was just that Lucy had a mean swing and sometimes it kinda hurt. “Hey! I said I think I got a promotion, not that I did,” he pointed out, finally catching the pillow and keeping it from Lucy’s reach. 

Lucy sighed, crossing her arms as she leant against the dresser. “Well, what’s there to be confused about? Did you get a pay raise?” 

“W-Well, yes. I think so. They said they’d send me a new contract to look over next week—” 

“Then it’s a promotion.” 

He rolled his eyes at her. “Fine, it’s a promotion,” he agreed hastily. “But I don’t actually know what it is they’re wanting me to do.” He’d walked into his meeting with his bosses worried as all hell about his job, but ended up walking out just confused as all hell. He’d spent the rest of the day searching online to try and figure out what it was his new possible job would entail, the internet had failed him and it hadn’t made him feel any better about it all. 

Lucy blinked, staring at her boyfriend for a few silent moments to try and figure out if he was actually serious or not. It seemed he was, judging by weird look he was giving her, as if to say, ‘yes, I’m serious, now stop staring at me and say something. I’m waiting.’ Really though, Lucy just didn’t know what to say. 

“How… How can you not know, though?” she asked slowly. “I mean, isn’t that why they wanted you to come in for a meeting anyway? To tell you about the new opportunity?” 

“Well, yeah, I guess.” He shrugged. “But it was more of like, a pre-meeting thing.” 

“A pre-meeting,” Lucy repeated. Bickslow shrugged again. She tried not to shake her head at him. “Alright, did they at least tell you anything about what you’d be doing?” 

“Yes. They said something about being a rapporteur for them, or something along those lines.” 

“A rapporteur? What the hell does that mean?” 

“I have no idea!” The internet made it sound fancy and special, but Bickslow had been a public servant long enough to know that nothing about his job would ever be fancy and special. Still, there were so many different descriptions online about it that he just hadn’t know what was right and what wasn’t. “Honestly, I think it just means I go to more meetings. And then go to even more meetings to talk about what happened in the last meeting.” 

“Sounds like a glorified secretary,” Lucy muttered. 

“Honestly, it probably is.” But he would be getting more money for it, so really, Bickslow wasn’t sure if it was worth complaining.


	4. Abominable - GrayTear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Very bad or unpleasant.”

Ultear looked on in disgust at the monstrosity Gray was creating. She usually didn’t have nightmares, but she was certain she was living in one, based on what she was looking at. 

“What… are you doing?” she finally asked. She wasn’t the least bit surprised that Gray was only in his boxers despite the snow being past his ankles. It was what he was doing in the snow that disturbed her. 

Gray looked up from the mounds of misshapen snow in front of him, looking to Ultear before looking back down to his creation. “Making a snowman.” He shrugged. Wasn’t it obvious? 

“That’s a snowman?” Ultear raised an eyebrow at him as she began trudging through the snow. “In what universe is that considered a snowman?” For a mage who worked with ice, Ultear would’ve thought the man would be able to make a decent snowman. Sure, they were different mediums, but still. The thing in front of her was definitely not a snowman. It was lopsided and barely holding together, and it had lumps in all the wrong places.

“Oi, there’s nothing wrong with it!” Gray defended himself. Granted, he’d never actually built a snowman before, but he’d woken up that morning, seen all the snow from the previous night, and had the urge to build a snowman.

“Darling, that thing is an abomination.” 

“Then it’s an abominable snowman.” 

Ultear blinked, and Gray blinked back at her, his words quickly dawning on him. Never had Ultear heard something so ridiculous come out of his mouth. Now she really was convinced she was in a nightmare. “Did you just say it was an abominable snowman?” 

Gray quickly turned away, his cheeks dusting with pink as he grabbed a handful of snow to begin shaping it. “No.” Damn it. Perhaps he’d been spending too much time with Meredy and Natsu. They were wearing off on him after all.


	5. Eclectic - BixLu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Composed of elements drawn from various sources.”

If it was one thing Bickslow knew for certain, it was that his girlfriend had eclectic taste. She was also a hoarder, but Bickslow was still trying to wrap his head around that since she hadn’t been when they’d first started seeing each other. 

Bickslow liked to think he was a kind, loving, and supportive partner. That was why when he went over to Lucy’s house that evening to have dinner with her and see all the random crap she’d bought on her last mission, his first thought was really just that he loved her odd little quirks. 

But, of course, they were still odd, and Bickslow had entered that relationship thinking he would be the weird one of the pair. Now two years later he was being proven horribly, horribly wrong. 

Still, Bickslow only knew of one place that he could find a find a set of miniature piglet figurines next to some random wooden fertility totem, and that was Lucy’s apartment. And, really, Bickslow had to admit that he’d enjoyed watching Lucy’s apartment turn into a disaster over the years. It was refreshing in a way too. His own apartment was depressingly minimalistic (according to Lucy). Freed’s was full of books and tomes was the fanciest apartment Bickslow had ever seen in his life. Evergreen’s was just… green. And Laxus’s apartment was, of course, the ultimate bachelor pad - or at least that was his goal. 

But Lucy’s apartment… Lucy’s apartment was the home she’d made for herself. Every little thing she’d picked up over the years had meant something to her. She’d filled her home with things she loved, as weird and absurd as some of them were, and Bickslow could never hate that.


	6. Paradigm - Raijinshuu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Example, pattern; especially: an outstandingly clear or typical example or archetype."

“But, why?”

 

Freed sighed as Bickslow pressed once more. Sometimes it was like talking to a brick wall. “I’ve told you why. It’s just the way it is,” he said, ignoring Evergreen’s snickering as he collected the dinner plates from the table. “I don’t make the laws, Bickslow.”

 

Bickslow pouted, sifting back in his chair and folding his arms. “It’s stupid.”

 

“I agree, but...” Freed shrugged. “You know how some people are with mages. People are worried about their kids being hurt. It’s the same as it always has been. Everyone is still scared, as they’ve been for decades. Nothing will change until the people start trusting us again.”

 

“Most kids aren’t even showing signs of magic at that age anyway,” Evergreen chimed in.

 

“Yeah, well, mine is. And you try telling a four-year-old that they’re not allowed to go to school to play with the other kids.”

 

“You know, I’m with Bicks on this one,” Laxus said, earning odd looks from his dinner companions. “What?”

 

“Nothing,” Freed said, surprised and shaking his head slightly. “You just don’t usually have an opinion on these matters, is all.” Even Bickslow was a little confused, but he was no doubt feeling smug over Laxus agreeing with him.

 

Laxus shrugged. Sure, he didn’t have his own kids, which was fine. But half the guild did, and his closest friends all did, and he was quite fond of his nieces and nephews. “I think it’s dumb,” he said. “Shouldn’t stop kids from learning shit just ‘cause they got magic in them. They’ll all end up like this fool.”

 

Bickslow was about to nod in agreement until he realised Laxus had gestured to him. “W-Wait, hang on!”

 


	7. Demotic - LaLu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Denoting or relating to the kind of language used by ordinary people; colloquial.” 
> 
> Set in the Keeper of Kitties AU that's posted on my ff.net account.

“I don’t have an uncle named Bob, though,” Lucy said thoughtfully.

 

Laxus groaned into his hands. The jester was snickering beside him, mindlessly playing with the cats that were swarming him, while Evergreen and Freed were getting on with their jobs.

 

Since taking the job as the kitten caretaker, and accepting the fact that he really fucking loved his job, Laxus had ended up forming a close bond with the princess. He wasn’t too fond of the cats even though he’d been there for half a year, but he was fond of the princess, and he as fond of the moments where he got to spend time with all of his favourite people. It didn’t happen very often, and it was usually late at night once the king had retired and once the staff all went to their quarters.

 

After spending more and more time with Laxus’s friends, Lucy hadn’t been able to help but notice they spoke in a slightly different way to her. There were phrases she didn’t quite understand, inside jokes she couldn’t begin to wrap her head around, and… Well, Lucy was inquisitive and liked to learn, so she asked what they meant, and most of the time, it ended with Laxus shaking his head at her and spending fifteen minutes trying to explain them to her.

 

That particular night had begun with Bickslow, the jester, talking about something that was sure to revolutionise the world as they knew it, and then saying something about an uncle named Bob, and of course, Lucy had decided to ask about it.

 

“I don’t have any uncles, actually,” she added.

 

“That’s not—” Laxus sighed, rubbing his temples. “No one has an uncle named Bob, alright?”

 

“I’m sure someone has to. But what does that have to do with Bickslow’s idea? Does Bickslow have an uncle named Bob?”

 

“Wouldn’t have a clue!” the jester chimed in.

 

“Look, it doesn’t actually have anything to do with uncles at all,” Laxus said.

 

“Then what—”

 

“It’s just a saying.”

 

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Well, I know that much,” she mumbled. She wasn’t an idiot. “You’re not a very good teacher, you know.”

 

Freed snorted, earning a glare from his blond-haired friend. He _knew_ he wasn’t a good teacher. That wasn’t his job. Although at that point, Laxus wasn’t really sure _what_ his job was. It mostly seemed to be keeping the princess company when her father’s dog wasn’t watching her.

 

“It’s like a, _ta-da_!” Bickslow offered, patting the calico cat that had climbed up onto his shoulders.

 

“Ta-da?”

 

“Yeah, like… Like everything is all done, you know? Like, you’re set.”

 

“Oh,” Lucy said. “So it’s like, the end?”

 

Bickslow shrugged. “I guess so.”

 

“Really? _That’s_ what makes you understand it?” Laxus muttered.

 

“Bickslow doesn’t get _huffy_ with me when I don’t understand,” Lucy huffed. “You just _groan_ and _sigh_ at me.”

 

“I do not!”

 

“You kind of do,” Evergreen mumbled.

 

Laxus huffed, crossing his arms and looking away, ignoring the cat that was slowly sprawling across his lap.

 


	8. Malinger - CoLu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "To pretend or exaggerate incapacity or illness (as to avoid duty or work)."

Putting her earrings in and checking her makeup in the mirror one last time, Lucy finally turned away and switched off the light in the bathroom, ducking back into her shared bedroom. “Ready to go?” she asked, expecting to see her partner all dressed up and waiting for her to finish getting ready. Instead, she found her maroon-haired boyfriend curled up in bed with the comforter up to his chin. “Seriously?” she dead-panned.

 

Erik coughed. “I’m sick,” he said, feigning weakness. “I can’t go. Sorry.”

 

Lucy sighed, setting her clutch back down on the dresser and making her way over to the bed. She knew Erik, probably a little more than he thought, and Lucy knew that Erik didn’t get sick. She also knew that he hated her friends, and that he absolutely detested going to her office Christmas parties. Lucy wasn’t really that fond of them either, but she was expected to be there, and by extension, so was her boyfriend. He also hated that.

 

She sat down on the edge of the mattress, gingerly laying her palm across Erik’s forehead. “Oh, wow. You’re really burning up,” she murmured.

 

“Huh?”

 

She didn’t answer before quickly ducking back into the bathroom to get her small medicine kit, pulling out the thermometer within. “Open up.” She shoved the thermometer under his tongue when he went to no doubt question what she was doing or if it was necessary, then stared down at her watch while holding it there. After a minute, she pulled it back out and read the gauge, frowning down at it while Erik made an attempt to sit up and peer over her shoulder at it. “Hmm, running a little warm, too,” Lucy mumbled. He wasn’t, of course.

 

Erik sank back down under the covers, trying to pull them up higher despite Lucy keeping them in place. He really wasn’t sure what was happening. He’d felt a little off that day, but really, he’d mostly just been wanting to try and trick Lucy into letting him stay home that year. He certainly hadn’t expected his body to go along with it.

 

“I better call Erza and tell her we can’t make it. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

 

“What? No,” Erik spluttered, his voice cracking embarrassingly. He couldn’t have Lucy stay home. Oh no. She was bound to find out it was a lie then. “No, you should… You should go,” he said, watching as Lucy fished her phone out of her clutch. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just, y’know, sleep and shit.”

 

Lucy shook her head. “No, that wouldn’t be fair. I’d rather stay home and keep you company, make sure you’re okay.”

 

Erik grimaced. Lucy was too nice for him. He wasn’t sure why she put up with him, but even if he was just a little glad that he’d be able to skip the party for that year, he was feeling guiltier by the second. Lying wasn’t his favourite thing in the world, at least not when it involved his girlfriend.

 

Putting her phone away, Lucy sighed and smiled back at Erik before returning to his side. She had him, she knew she did. “Well, I guess that’s that!”

 

“Yeah…” Erik mumbled.

 

“Do you want me to make you something to eat? Or do you just want to rest.”

 

“Uh, I think… maybe I’ll just rest…” If he was asleep, he couldn’t be caught out. Lucy nodded and then leant down, and Erik went to turn away at the last second when he realised she’d been trying to kiss him. “Oh, no, don’t—I don’t want you to get—”

 

“I’ll give you fifteen minutes to get out of bed and get dressed,” Lucy murmured against his cheek. Erik’s eye went wide, and Lucy couldn’t help the slight chuckle that came from her lips as she pressed a kiss to his cheek before sitting back up. “Nice try, hun. You can’t get out of socialising that easily.”


	9. Behest - GrayLu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "An urgent prompting."

“You’re not serious. No.”

 

“Please?” Lucy begged, tugging on Gray’s arm as she continued to sidle up to him on the couch. She couldn’t get as close she liked anymore, not with the spawn in the way, but Lucy could still make things work. “Come on, you’re not even doing anything!”

 

That was _not_ the point. The point was that it was a ridiculous time to be going out. He wasn’t twenty-three anymore. He had a reasonable nightly routine of not doing anything past ten o’clock. “It’s the middle of the night.”

 

“I know, but I’m hungry,” Lucy complained.

 

“We have food. Make something then.”

 

“But I don’t wanna. And I want onion rings. I can’t make onion rings.”

 

“Sure you can,” Gray said, shrugging.

 

Lucy nudged him again, doing her best to get him to cave to her whim. “Please, Gray? _Pleeeaaase_?” she begged. “It’ll take fifteen minutes!”

 

Gray made the mistake of looking down, instantly falling prey to her best puppy-dog eyes. He sighed loudly, almost groaning, and switched the TV off with the remote. “Fine,” he grumbled. “But you’re coming with me.”

 

The last thing he needed right then was to get Lucy’s order wrong, which he was still awfully prone to doing. It wasn’t his fault she kept changing her mind about what she liked though.

 

“Okay!”

 

###

 

_“Welcome to Eight-Island, what can I get for you tonight?”_

 

Gray squinted at the menu boards in the drive-thru, trying to decipher the words amidst the disgustingly bright pictures. “Uh, yeah, hi, could I please get…” He turned to Lucy beside him in the car, quietly urging her to tell him what she wanted.

 

“The chicken deluxe burger,” she said. “Large.”

 

“Can I please get one of those, uh… Chicken deluxe meals? Large,” Gray said, turning back to the speaker box.

 

“No pickles,” Lucy added. “Or tomato. But extra mayo. And bacon. And cheese.”

 

Gray couldn’t help but turn back and gawk at his girlfriend. “You eat weird shit,” he muttered under his breath.

 

“Pregnant.”

 

“You ate weird shit _before_ you were knocked up.”

 

Lucy shrugged, listening as Gray amended the order and it popped up on the little screen under the speaker.

 

_“Anything else?”_

 

“A large onion rings, too,” Lucy said. “Two, actually.”

 

Gray tried not to roll his eyes. “Um, yeah. Two large onion rings as well, please,” he said.

 

_“Uh-huh. Anything else?”_

 

“Tenders, too. For breakfast.”

 

“And, a pack of your chicken tenders as well,” Gray sighed.

 

_“And was there anything else tonight?”_

 

Gray completely expected Lucy to list something else she wanted, but instead she just shrugged and sat back in her seat with a pleased smile. Because of course she was pleased - she’d just ordered twenty-five dollars worth of food for herself and wasn’t paying for it. But Gray didn’t really care.

 

Still, it was Eight-Island, and Eight-Island served the best soft serve ice cream in the entire town, and Gray could never resist ordering it. “Yeah, and just one of your jumbo sundaes. With extra sprinkles,” he added finally.

 

_“Not a problem. Was that all for tonight?”_

 

“Yes, thank you.”

 

Hearing the order total, an amount that just made Gray cringe, he pulled around to the next window to see a familiar face operating the register. “They put you on overnights, Wendy?”

 

“Just until I finish this semester,” she answered, waiting patiently as Gray fished his wallet from the console. “Wanted a midnight snack, I take it?”

 

Gray scoffed. “Yeah, sure. More like _someone_ didn’t like the food at home so I had to come and get a mountain of onion rings, at her behest.”

 

Wendy leant out her booth as Gray handed her the notes. “Didn’t see you there. Hi, Lucy!”

 

“Hi, Wendy,” Lucy said sweetly.

 

Grabbing the receipt and the change from Wendy, they bid goodnight to their young friend and Gray pulled forward to the next window to pick up the giant bag of food. Before Gray had made it back onto the main road, Lucy had already pulled one of the packs of onion rings out the bag and was happily digging in.


	10. Venal - Lucy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Originating in, characterised by, or associated with corrupt bribery.”

Lucy had always liked her job. She’d always loved the feeling she got from knowing she was helping her community and making it a better place. But, she also liked being able to pay her bills, and she couldn’t really deny that she liked the idea of having someone looking out for her back, even if the people who did weren’t the most upstanding citizens.

 

When she’d first joined the force, Lucy had hated the people who were swayed by money. It was part of why she’d joined the force as it was; she’d been sick and tired of seeing the ones who were supposed to uphold the laws they abide by just turn a blind eye to the dealings around them. Lucy had wanted to change that.

 

Lucy hadn’t meant to become the people she hated, though. But she’d befriended the wrong person, let herself by used, even, and before long it had been too late to get out. She’d become the type of person she’d hated most, corrupt and venal and looking the other way for the sake of her own comfort.

 

Even years later, Lucy couldn’t help but feel ill every time she paid a bill or even bought something she wouldn’t have otherwise been able to afford. But doing the right thing wasn’t an option anymore.

 


	11. Terraform - BixLu (Edolas)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “To alter the environment of (a celestial body) in order to make capable of supporting terrestrial lifeforms.”

“Bicks, it’s an alien planet. _By definition_ , we’re not going to live on it.”

 

Bickslow sighed, ignoring one of the many rats that were crawling over and around him, gently pushing his glasses back up when one of them decided the pull on the arm. “ _We’re_ not going to,” he agreed. “But someone is going to, at least at some point.”

 

“ _How_?” Lucy groaned. It was disturbing how many times they’d had that conversation, or at least some variant of it. “Last I checked, _this_ was the only planet humans are able to survive on.”

 

“Not necessarily. Find a suitable planet, terraform it a bit, and it can be a perfectly viable option for human inhabitance. And, I for one think it would be fucking awesome to live on an alien planet.” Although, perhaps that was because he didn’t particularly like Edolas all that much. Too many people there, most of which he couldn’t actually talk to because they all had the mental maturity of a three year old.

 

Lucy could only blink, staring at him for a few moments in utter astonishment. “My god, you’re the biggest dork in all of Edolas,” she muttered. She’d already known that of course - she’d known that _long_ before they’d gotten together - but sometimes it blew her out of the water how much of a nerd he was. Perhaps it was because she could, in fact, picture Bickslow loving to live on an alien-inhabited planet.

 

“Yes,” Bickslow agreed. “But, you did marry me, so that, _by definition_ , would mean that you like that.”


	12. Boycott - ErzaJane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “To engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (a person, a store, an organisation, etc.) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions.”

“No! I will not stand for this!” Erza slammed her fist on the bar for effect. “How dare they think they can get away with this!”

 

Mira smiled tiredly at her distraught girlfriend, mindlessly polishing the glassware around her. “Well, it has been on the menu since he first opened,” she offered, trying to calm the Requip mage down and help her see reason.

 

“That’s the point!” Erza said. The other mages at the bar had all scurried away, other than Lucy who was too busy with her nose in a book. Mira supposed the guild was quiet compared her life at home now, so it was no surprise that she wasn’t really paying much attention to Erza’s dramatics. That, and she was probably used to it anyway. “It’s a classic. His entire business was built on that cake!”

 

“I’m sure he’ll add another one to the menu in time,” Mira said. “A better one, even.”

 

Erza shook her head, mouth agape at what her girlfriend had just suggested. “Preposterous! Nothing could ever top the classic strawberry sponge. In fact, I think we should all stop going there until the owner brings the original menu back.” Erza looked to the blonde beside her. “Don’t you agree, Lucy?”

 

Lucy looked up from her book, looking around dimly. “Hm? What?”

 

“Boycotting the bakehouse.”

 

“Oh, yeah, sure…” Lucy murmured. She didn’t know if it was worth mentioning that she’d never actually been to Erza’s favourite bakery.

 

“Excellent. I shall alert everyone else in the guild of this boycott at once.”

 

Mira could only sigh once more as Erza rose from her stool to do exactly what she said.


	13. Clement - Stirza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Inclined to be merciful.”

“Eucliffe. You’ve made bail.”

 

Sting looked up from where he’d situated himself in the corner of the overcrowded room, rushing over to the door as the officer unlocked it and slid it open. He thought he’d die in there, surrounded by sweaty criminals, forever regretting his actions.

 

Sting knew he should’ve listened to Rogue. He always got himself into trouble when he went out with Natsu. It was always a blast when they did go out, but still, Sting had never gotten himself arrested over it. There was a first time for everything though.

 

Following the officer back out to the waiting room, Sting kept trying to peek around the broad man in the narrow hallway. He hadn’t really expected anyone to come get him, especially after Rogue had hung up on him after using his one phone call on him. But, Rogue was still his brother, and Sting didn’t think Rogue would willingly let him rot in a cell just to teach him a lesson.

 

“There you are,” the officer said, unlocking the last door that stood between himself and strict freedom. “Stay out of trouble for the time being, kid.”

 

Sting nodded. He’d be on his best behaviour for sure.

 

He was grinning as he walked into the waiting room, entirely expecting to see his brother sitting and waiting for him with a scowl on his face. “Rogue! I knew you’d—”

 

He stopped when he saw the fiery redhead standing with her arms crossed, half heartedly wondering if he could turn around and go back to the communal cell. Erza was scowling, not surprisingly, but Sting couldn’t quite tell if she wanted to pummel him or perhaps kiss him. _Maybe she’s into bad boys?_ Sting thought. _No, no. Definitely wants to pummel me_ , he realised as he got closer.

 

“H-Hey, Erza,” he laughed nervously. “Guess Rogue called you, huh?” He hadn’t wanted Erza to know, especially since they’d _just_ started seeing each other. Sting guessed that was also part of Rogue trying to teach him a lesson.

 

Erza didn’t say anything, instead turning on her heels to walk through the front door and out to her car. She, admittedly, had wanted to leave Sting there after his brother had called her in the middle of the night. She knew all too well what kind of shenanigans Natsu and Sting got up to, but usually she was stuck cleaning up after _Natsu_ and not Sting.

 

But, against her better judgement, Erza had decided to be clement towards her new boyfriend. Natsu was a lost cause, but Sting… Sting could still be taught. He could be shaped into a reasonable human being, one that knew better than to go along with all of Natsu’s antics. Either way, Erza had no intentions of helping him out of that situation again, should it ever happen.

 

His girlfriend’s silence was intimidating, and Sting picked up his pace to walk alongside her out on the pavement. “Thank you, though,” he said, noticing the glance she gave in his direction as they kept walking. “For paying my bail. I’ll… I’ll make it up to you, I promise!” He’d offer to pay her back but he knew she’d get her money back after he showed up at court.

 

Erza knew he would. That much she’d trusted to begin with. She just hadn’t quite figure out _how_ she could have Sting repay her. But Erza supposed she could figure that out as she went. “How about you start by buying me breakfast.”


End file.
